Survival of the Dead: Has the world gone mad?

I've already reviewed George Romero's latest entry into his "Dead" saga, but I want to talk about it for a little bit. I've been seeing a lot of overly positive reviews pop up for this flick, including from Dread Central, one of the only mainstream horror sites I usually trust. I've watched the movie twice now, just to make sure I wasn't just in a bad mood during my first viewing, and I still feel the same.

I'm a huge fan of Romero, in fact, my favorite horror film of all time is Day of the Dead. I also think, that while clearly not his best work, that Land of the Dead has been given an unwarranted bad reputation. I feel the same, though not as strongly, about Diary of the Dead. I've actually seen a lot of people put Diary of the Dead on the bottom of a list from good to worst, placing Survival above it. This, to me, is insanity. Yes, Diary is not one of Romero's greatest films, but It's still better than 9/10ths of the other zombie films that have been released as of late. Survival was far too slapstick for me. There were scenes that felt like they were lifted right out of an episode of Road Runner. Zombies riding horses? It's meaning wasn't lost on me. I know that he's been building on to this "Zombies can learn" aspect since the early films, but this was just far too over the top for me.

One of the things that makes Romero's films stand out of the crowd has always been the spectacular special effects. I realize that Savini was responsible for most of this, but I'm sure he was guided by Romero's vision. Survival of the dead features some of the worst CG I've ever seen in a horror film. I realize he's gone back to his indie roots, and is making these films on a tight budget, but it seems like, being the horror icon that he is, he could phone in some favors and have some beautiful practical effects done for his film, for practically nothing. Hell, I know we(The Liberal Dead) would have done it for him for free, and thanked him for the experience. This is the one thing, that in my opinion, makes or breaks a film. There are a lot of flaws that I can forgive in a horror film, but bad special effects is not one of them, especially when you have so many options available to you. It boggles my mind, that as technology advances, effects in movies are beginning to look worse, instead of better. A guy in a rubber suit may sound ridiculous to you, but compare the special effects in a film like "Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer" to something like Survival of the Dead, or Wrong Turn 3, or any of the recently released horror sequels, all but ruined by shoddy FX.

Perhaps I expect too much from Romero. The man is a legend of the genre though, and I don't feel silly expecting more from him as a film maker. I know he has it in him, as his original trilogy are 3 of the most important films in horror history. To watch Day of the Dead, and then watch Survival of the Dead is painful. It's almost as if a completely different director made these two movies. I know people change as the years pass, but I have to believe that George Romero still has that brilliance inside of him. Much like some people believe in Jesus, I believe in Romero. I believe that one day, before he leaves this earth, he'll provide us with one last epic zombie film to end them all. Suffice it to say, Survival of the Dead is not this film. It's not even a decent watch. Romero has been in the horror headlines recently, announcing plans for at least 2 more "Dead" films to end the series, as well as a few other projects. Please George, Please. Take your time. You're getting up there in years, and unfortunately, you won't be with us for much longer. Instead of trying to pump out as many films as you can before you go, why not slow down, and create one last movie. Provide the world with the most epic zombie feature it has ever seen. Wouldn't you rather go out on a legendary note, than fade away with a few last ditch mediocre efforts?